Wednesday, June 19, 2013

The Miracle Pine in Japan

While flying on Malaysia Airlines today, I saw this on its inflight magazine and I thought it's worth sharing. I have little doubt that, if we have one here, it would definitely be a popular spot for the superstitious four-digit punters.

The Miracle Pine. Image: Malaysia Airlines - Going Places

Proud Pine

Of the 70,000 trees that once stood in the old forest of Rikuzentakata in the Iwaya Prefecture of Honshu, only one was left standing after the earthquake of Mar 2011. The sole survivor was nicknamed the 'Miracle Pine', though it succumbed to toxic salinity levels deposited in the soil a year later.

But now it has risen again anew, in the form of a sculpture - the Miracle Pine Project - marking the second anniversary of the disaster.

Using plastic moulds of the pine tree's trunk and branches, and steel needles for the leaves, the 1.4 tonne sculpture is anchored exactly where the original tree stood, which during its life survived not just one, but three devastating tsunamis.